Hi Guys an old windsurfer trying to get my head around riding toe side I can turn okay but struggle to keep moving toe side any advice would be greatly appreciated cheers Rich ![]()
What helped me was to hold the wing as much forward as possible, especially here grabbing the front handle on the very end with front arm fully extended. It also helped me to keep my body relatively upright, so not lean too much into the wind, because if you do that and rely too much on support from the wing, you will crash as soon as there is a slight drop. If you stay more upright you have more control. Still keep a little lean tough of course, just not too extreme.
Don't try to go upwind when learning toeside. You can do that later, when more comfortable.
1. Bend your knees. It makes it easier to twist the upper body.
2. Back elbow up! (Tip from a very experienced wing instructor)
3. Front arm extended in front of you. Your front hand should be at about eye level. If the hand is too high (above your head), you cannot power the wing, and will likely fall backwards.
4. Turn far enough - (almost) to the new beam reach (3 or 9 o'clock) in lighter wind, a bit less when fully powered. That's a tip I got from a much better winger who watched me struggling toe side after jibes, and it definitely helped.
It helps a lot to try and keep your hips square pointing forward. When I was windsurfing a lot, the stance is more closed - hips pointed towards the sail. My foiling is a lot better both ways heel side and toe side if I work to keep my stance open with hips squared up facing in the direction you're going.
Try learning to ride toeside by jibing zigzag downwind. You only have to turn 90-120 degree and transition from heelside downwind to toeside downwind is a lot easier than from beam reach to beam reach. So less fall and faster learning. After you comfortable doing this you can turn 180 degree easily.
But obviously you only do this when you can ride upwind efficiently.